May 17: Vilnius, Lithuania

[Editor’s note: This was received in pieces through the night, and is being posted soon after the choir boarded their flight in Amsterdam for their long flight back to Salt Lake City. They had a wonderful tour that they will always remember. Bravo to Nicole, Blake, and Rachel for their extra work at the end of long days to collect photos and write the blog! This last blog post has many photos without explanation given, so just enjoy!]

We had a fantastic last day in the Baltics. Vilnius had beautiful sites to see and excellent food. We enjoyed the city for most of the day before getting ready for our last concert with the Sonoros choir.

We sang at the Saint Catherine’s cathedral, a decommissioned church that is under renovation to become a concert hall. It was still beautiful despite its mid-construction state. We had a full house, which was a great note to end on if you’ll pardon the pun.

There were many tears shed, both happy and sad. For many, this was it! But I think I speak for everyone when I say our hearts were overflowing with a deep sense of gratitude—grateful for our director, our beautiful university, and of course, for choir and music. They have given us so much. We can only hope to pay it forward one day.

Thank you to the Baltics for treating us so well! Now for the long flight home!

May 16: Travel to Vilnius, Lithuania

Okay, today was busy!! We traveled to our last stop on tour, Vilnius. The bus ride was quite special today—we held the first annual Crane Awards! The section leaders and presidency members presented each member of the choir with a funny ‘anecdotal’ type award and an origami paper crane (yes, we had to fold 40 paper cranes). Read more

May 15: Klaipėda, Lithuania

We won the Grand Prix!! We were pleasantly surprised to also win all three categories we entered. But ultimately, we had a grand time sharing our gifts and learning from the friends we made. It was a truly enriching experience that I think we’ll all remember for a long time. Read more

May 14: Klaipėda, Lithuania

Well, I might as well start out with the highlight of today—we made it to the Grand Prix! Only a handful of choirs were invited and we feel honored to be one of them! Read more

May 13: Klaipėda, Lithuania

We started off the day bright and early at 9 am and immediately headed over to the first concert venue of the day. We didn’t have much time, leaving many of us warming up on the walk there, eliciting plenty of looks from those passing by. But we didn’t care—we were headed to represent our beloved university! Read more